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Seavey Vineyard



 

  2006 Seavey Chardonnay
 
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750ml Price:

Composite: 100%CH
Produced: 44 cases
Alcohol: 14.7%
Oak: 50% New French
Cellaring: 10 Years
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Wine Details:
 
100% ESTATE GROWN, PRODUCED AND BOTTLED - NAPA VALLEY AVA
                     
Seavey Vineyard’s 2006 Chardonnay was made from 100% chardonnay grapes from vineyard blocks in the cooler parts of the vineyard adjacent to Conn Creek.

The grapes were whole-berry cluster pressed and fermented in Burgundian barrels (50% new oak) with a combination of indigenous and cultured yeast and without undergoing malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged in barrels for seven months before bottling on May 24, 2007.

Light rains in the weeks prior to harvest resulted in a worrisome amount of Botrytis in our Chardonnay blocks in 2006.  Botrytis, which easily preys on thin-skinned Chardonnay grapes, is the “noble rot” responsible for the great dessert wines of the world.  The haunting and intriguing flavors it imparts to wines such as Chateau D'Yquem are woefully out of place in a dry table wine, so we made every effort to keep “Bortrytized” grapes out of the press.  

Most clusters were left behind in the vineyard.  When the grapes arrived at the winery, our sorting was ruthless.  We threw out close to a third of the clusters that came in, and individually removed affected berries from the remaining clusters.  The result was that our yields were the lowest in Seavey history and only two barrels of this wine were made.  We believe our efforts were successful, and that the resulting wine is wonderful, with aromas of pineapple and tropical fruits.  The wine is fuller-bodied and more tightly wound than normal, indicating greater complexities to develop over the next few years.
 
Production Team:
  • Consultant Winemaker: Philippe Melka
  • Winemaker: Matt Reid
  • Winemaker Assistant: Kelly Woods
  • Vineyard Foreman: Mario Gutierrez